What Price Luxury? | Travel + Leisure

What Price Luxury?

Return to main article

As the saying goes, you get what you pay for. Here, a sampling of the world's most exclusive retreats. Prices listed are per night; see complete address book, linked at right.

$1,146
WHERE Villa San Michele, Italy
WHAT A standard room
BRAGGING RIGHTS Peace and quiet (the hotel used to be a monastery); views of the Tuscan countryside; breakfast; shuttle into town.

$1,168
WHERE Londolozi
Private Game Reserve, South Africa
WHAT A suite in one of five camps
BRAGGING RIGHTS Two open–Land Rover safaris per day; daily meals; house wines and other beverages; laundry service.

$1,224
WHERE Wrotham Park Lodge, Australia
WHAT One of 10
guest quarters
BRAGGING RIGHTS Outdoor deck; binoculars; unlimited mini-bar access; three meals daily; beverages; laundry service; cattle-station tours; gourmet picnic baskets; horseback riding; canoeing; cooking classes; use of mountain bikes; guided nature walks.

$2,138
WHERE Wakaya Club, Fiji
WHAT
A bure with ocean and garden views
BRAGGING RIGHTS Indoor space of 1,500 square feet; a private garden; a lava-rock outdoor shower; meals and beverages; unlimited mini-bar access; two scuba dives a day; unlimited use of sports facilities (everything from snorkeling to professional croquet); a personal tennis or golf coach; laundry service; natural woven slippers; chilled Taittinger on arrival; unlimited bottles of water (Fiji, of course).

$3,175
WHERE North Island, Seychelles
WHAT A thatched villa
BRAGGING RIGHTS Private outdoor showers surrounded by a wildlife sanctuary; daily meals; scuba diving; sea kayaking; shore-based fishing; use of mountain bikes and one island buggy.

$6,700 (three-night minimum)
WHERE Great Mercury Island, New Zealand
WHAT A private island
BRAGGING RIGHTS Two villas and a main house, which sleep up to 16 people; 5,000 acres of land; dedicated staff to customize activities (everything from touring the working cattle and sheep farm to golf on the mainland); gourmet meals in the main dining room or an impromptu seafood cookout on the beach; helicopter ride on and off the island.

$12,260
WHERE Emirates Palace, Abu Dhabi
WHAT Palace Suites
BRAGGING RIGHTS
Extravagant space (7,405 square feet); three bedrooms; dining room; Swarovski chandeliers; three rain showers; seven 61-inch plasma televisions; Lady Primrose amenities; a butler who can draw a welcome bath; a constant supply of munchies; a chauffeur to drive you around town, or to and from the airport, in a stretch limousine.

$17,047
WHERE Four Seasons New York
WHAT Presidential Suites
BRAGGING RIGHTS Real estate (1,500 square feet, to be exact); 180 degrees of the best views in town (this is Manhattan's tallest hotel); living in an I.M. Pei design.

$28,250
WHERE Setai, Miami Beach
WHAT Penthouse
BRAGGING RIGHTS
When it opens next month: a whopping 10,000 square feet; three bedrooms; two-level wraparound balconies; a private lap pool; a Jacuzzi; great city and ocean views.

$333,333
WHERE Little Palm Island, Florida

WHAT
The million-dollar weekend package offers private use of the island (three-night minimum)
BRAGGING RIGHTS All 30 suites; a bottle of Cristal, with engraved champagne flutes (to keep); turndown gifts (think Tag Heuer watches, Tiffany frames); all meals; open bar; spa treatments; a 100-foot yacht with crew; scuba and fishing expeditions; a $30,000 shopping spree at the hotel boutique; a limo on call for land excursions; fireworks show.

Sky's the Limit
WHERE Hôtel Président Wilson, Geneva
WHAT Imperial Suite (so exclusive, they won't reveal the rate)
BRAGGING RIGHTS 12,900 square feet; four bedrooms; dressing room; study; billiard table; cocktail lounge that accommodates 40; steam bath; stocked library; bulletproof windows and doors.

Copyright © 2008, American Express Publishing. All rights reserved.